Before joining GW Law in 2008, John M. Whealan worked at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) where he served as deputy general counsel for intellectual property law and solicitor since 2001. Dean Whealan represented the USPTO in all intellectual property litigation in federal court and advised the agency on a variety of policy issues. During his tenure, he argued approximately 30 cases before the Federal Circuit and, with his staff, was responsible for briefing and arguing more than 250 cases. Dean Whealan also assisted the U.S. Solicitor General on virtually every intellectual property case that has been heard by the Supreme Court since 2001. He also served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary for the last year.

Prior to 2001, Dean Whealan was a staff attorney for the U.S. International Trade Commission where he litigated several investigations involving intellectual property matters. He has clerked at both the appellate and trial court levels, serving as law clerk to Judge Randall R. Rader, JD '78, of the Federal Circuit and Judge James T. Turner of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Dean Whealan has engaged in private practice at Fish & Neave in New York and worked as a design engineer for General Electric. For the past 10 years, he has taught as an adjunct professor of law at The Franklin Pierce Law Center and also has taught courses at George Mason University School of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law.